A fuse comprises a fuse element, for example in the form of a wire, which at elevated current is heated and melts, the fuse blows, and the component that the fuse protects is disconnected.
In certain applications, such as fuses for protection of capacitor elements in power capacitors, the fuse comprises, in addition to fuse elements, also terminals which have a larger cross section area than the fuse element.
The fuse element usually consists of a wire, preferably a metal wire of copper, aluminium, silver, alloys based on these metals, as well as nickel silver, or any other material with a resistivity and melting point suitable for the application.
For a fuse element provided with terminals, the contacting, that is, the transition between terminal and fuse element, which with conventional technique is usually performed by means of soldering, welding or a mechanical pressure joint, is a critical step. The influence of heat from the soldering/welding or mechanical damage upon the contacting by means of the pressure joint weakens the fuse, preferably at the transition between terminal and fuse element. This has an adverse effect on the fuse and the protective function by the introduction of weakenings or other inhomogeneities in the fuse.
In connection with fuses in capacitor elements or in other components where the fuse is mounted "narrowly" and in close proximity to electrically loaded materials, all forms of mechanical pressure points must be avoided. For that reason, the transition between terminal and fuse element in fuses which make contact with or are mounted in close contact with electrically loaded materials, for example fuses mounted inside or adjacent to a capacitor element, must be of essentially the same dimension as the terminal, that is, no lumps of solder, welding material, mechanical clamps or the like, which exceed the dimensions of the terminal and create pressure points, can be allowed.
The invention aims to propose a method whereby a fuse, which comprises a fuse element in the form of a thin wire and at least one terminal, the terminal having a larger cross section area than the fuse element, can be manufactured in an economic and rational way while at the same time avoiding the above-mentioned problems arising in connection with the contacting or the transition between terminal and fuse element.